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Caldwell board votes to waive athletic fees for out‑of‑district students
Summary
After reviewing participation data and collection challenges, the Caldwell School District board voted July 14 to eliminate athletic/activities fees for nontraditional (out‑of‑district, charter or homeschooled) students for IHSA extracurriculars.
The Caldwell School District Board of Trustees voted July 14 to stop charging athletic and IHSA extracurricular fees for nontraditional (out‑of‑district) students, a change supporters said will prevent a small number of athletes from being deterred from participating.
Vice Chair Marisol Pacino moved the measure, saying district data showed the number of nontraditional athletes was small and that the costs could be absorbed without assessing families. "I would like to make a motion to approve ... and to not charge an athletic sports fee for our nontraditional athletes," Pacino said during the meeting.
The motion drew questions from trustees and staff about how many students this would affect and how fees had been collected in the past. Trustees discussed a district spreadsheet showing about 188 fall‑season athletes at Caldwell High School with three identified as nontraditional, and roughly 10 in spring sports; a district summary cited approximately 16 nontraditional athletes in total this year. Trustee Andrew Butler said those totals translate into "a small percentage" of the roughly 550 spots across all teams and that the proposed fee schedule appeared out of proportion to district budgets.
Board members also noted that some fee schedules had rarely been enforced; staff confirmed earlier waivers had been common. Trustees discussed operational details — who would collect fees, when collection would occur, and whether a student could play before a payment was completed — and staff said any future fee policy would have to be written clearly on collection and enforcement before being implemented.
After debate, Pacino's motion — seconded by Trustee Andrew Butler — passed on a voice vote. Chairman Travis Manning announced, "Motion carries," and the board instructed staff that nontraditional students will not be charged athletic or IHSA extracurricular fees at this time.
The board did not adopt a new district‑wide funding mechanism to replace those fees; trustees said they will revisit the issue if the number of out‑of‑district participants grows substantially.
